Square announces E3 lineup

[04.13.99] » All your old favorites - plus SaGa Frontier II!

   Square announced this morning the titles it would be showing at this year's E3 Exposition. Unsurprisingly, Square was eager to stress this little title called "Final Fantasy VIII." Humorously, while the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII is based around the "theme of love," the U.S. version is a "compelling story mix of action and adventure with an added touch of romance." Square instead focused on Final Fantasy VIII's strong Japanese sales, excellent storyline, enhanced graphics and FMV, and the "Draw" magic system Final Fantasy VII will be released in Fall 1999.

   Square also confirmed that Chocobo's Dungeon 2 will be shown in playable form. The super-cute dungeon-crawl will keep the "2" in its title and is due for an an early 2000 release. Present in video form will be the previously confirmed Final Fantasy Anthology. Final Fantasy V and VI will both be included. A representative for Square EA confirmed with GIA that Final Fantasy VI will almost assuredly use the original, Ted Woolsey translation. Son of a submariner! Final Fantasy Anthology is due Winter 1999.

   Finally, Square made the welcome addition of SaGa Frontier II to their roster. Unlike the original, SaGa Frontier II doesn't get lost in its own non-linearity, and manages to offer a compelling role-playing experience - as opposed to a merely muddled one. SaGa Frontier II's graphics consist of goregous, hand-drawn watercolor backgrounds and sprites, lending it a graphical style all its own. SaGa Frontier II is due early 2000.

   Also present will be the fighter Ehrgeiz and the racer Chocobo Racing, due in Spring and Winter 1999, respectively.

   The addition of SaGa Frontier II to Square's roster is a promising sign for RPG fans. When Square announced Ehrgeiz, Chocobo Racing, and Chocobo's Dungeon 2 - with no "true" RPGs in sight - many a shiver ran down an RPGer's spine. That Square plans to localize SaGa Frontier II means that they haven't forgotten the still-in-development Legend of Mana and Front Mission 3. Both, hopefully, will eventually find their way to U.S. shores.

   All information was gleaned from Square's press release.